


Rose Blossom on the Heath

by blueelvewithwings



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Eddie is a saint, Getting Together, Harm to Barry, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Rape, Rape Aftermath, Rape Recovery, Whump, set in season 1 towards the end
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-26
Updated: 2019-01-26
Packaged: 2019-10-17 06:35:14
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,976
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17555219
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blueelvewithwings/pseuds/blueelvewithwings
Summary: Eobard Thawne catches Barry alone and takes out his frustrations on him, violating him brutally. Eddie finds him later, and stays with him to pick up the pieces.





	Rose Blossom on the Heath

**Author's Note:**

> //please mind the tags, this is a Whump fic. Barry is not okay. He will be, but he is not there yet. Eddie helps, though. A lot.

Being pushed to the wall came as a surprise. In hindsight, it shouldn‘t have, bit for a moment he didn‘t know what was happening, and when he started to struggle the power-dampening cuffs already closed around his wrists, snapping shut and leaving him with his wrists trapped behind his back.

„Wha-“

„Now I finally have you where I want you, Flash. Helpless and at my mercy.”

Eobard Thawne’s voice sent chills down Barry’s back, and even though he knew it was futile he struggled against the cuffs.

“What are you doing?”

“Teaching you a lesson. About how much I truly hate you.”

The man was pressed close to him behind him, pushing Barry painfully into the braille dots that were lining the wall. He had been so stupid to come here when everyone else was gone already. Why did he stay at Star Labs alone?

“I think I know how much you hate me already, you killed my mother, remember?”

“Oh yes, dear Barry. I remember. I remember how her ribs shifted under the knife, and her face when the blade broke through her skin. I remember her scream, and there is nothing more beautiful than that sound. It was amazing. Of course, I’d rather have killed you, but stupid future you saw fit to protect you… so dear old Mom it had to be. And now… now I can make you make the sounds I’ve always wanted to hear from you.”

Barry huffed and twisted, trying to squirm his way out of the cuffs. It wouldn’t work, he knew. Cisco had built them, he wouldn’t be able to get out of them.

“So just kill me already and be done with it, then!”

“Kill you? Oh but Flash, then what would our future fights be like? No… no, I’m going to make you pay for what you did to me, what you’re going to do to me, and then I will make you _wish_ I’d just killed you.”

His voice had taken on a slightly crazed sound, and Barry wondered what would be in store for him right there. What would Thawne try to do to him, if not kill him?

“I still need you for my plans, Flash. But hurting you a little won’t be harmful for my plans...”

Barry froze when he felt hands slip into his pants, and then Thawne just pushed them down forcefully, ripping them in the process.

“I’ve always admired your fine ass, Barry Allen. Time to let my have my piece of it.”

No. No! That couldn’t be. Barry immediately started squirming again, trying to get out, to elbow his way out of the pressure that Thawne had on him. He could feel the guy’s hardening cock on his naked ass, and he realised with horror that he’d already lost his pants, too.

“No! Let me go, you creep!”

“Aww, sweet, he’s asking me to let him go? How about no? You’ve made me suffer enough, Flash!”

Barry tried to squeeze his ass cheeks together, but he still could feel a forceful finger entering him, painfully pushing inside without any care or mind for his well-being. “I’m going to teach you your place, you fucking whore”, Thawne hissed, and long before Barry’s body would be anywhere near ready, he pushed in a second finger.

“Always flirting around, making eyes at that West bitch and Ramon. Always so coy and always so above everyone. I’m going to push you right through the ground and stomp on you, Flash, and then you’ll help me get home, so I can do it all over again there. That’s the beauty of time travel, you see. I’ll get to rape your ass over and over. And maybe one day you’ll even like it like the slut you are.”

“Never!” Barry shouted, trying to get enough leverage to kick his leg backwards. He only managed to hit his knee in the wall in front of him and the thin air behind him before he got a swift kick in the back of his knee and nearly collapsed if it hadn’t been for Thawne’s hand on his neck pressing him into the wall and keeping him upright.

“Never? Such a sweet thing to say for a time traveling speedster. You’ll see, you’ll end up being my docile pet yet.”

Barry whimpered when a third finger was pushed in, and Thawne roughly stretched him out. He could feel tears sliding down his cheeks already, and even though he knew it wouldn’t help he still struggled, managing to make Thawne’s fingers slip out of him every once in a while. It only resulted in them being shoved back in even more roughly, and after the second time he managed Thawne’s hand closed around the front of his neck, cutting off a lot of his air circulation.

“You know, I’d rather not kill you now, Flash, but I’m going to have my way now and if I’ll have to fuck your dead, cooling body, I will. But I rather like you alive and screaming so _stop struggling_.”

Of course, Barry did do no such thing. He wouldn’t just stand there and let himself be taken. No, he’d fight as much as he could, even if it got difficult already with the hand clenching his throat shut. He still squirmed, trying to twist out his lower body, and for a moment he almost felt like he could have succeeded, when Thawne’s fingers slipped back out of him, but then there was a more blunt pressure on his ass, and he gasped as Thawne roughly pressed his cock into Barry’s ass.

It hurt, oh god, it hurt.

He felt like he was being split open, even with the unsufficient preparation from before. He was being torn open and split in two, and he knew he was sobbing and crying, pulling on the handcuffs and struggling, kicking and squirming and gasping, but to no avail. Thawne had him seemingly effortlessly pinned into place, and he just squeezed Barry’s throat shut even more tightly as he continued to struggle. Barry made some choking noises, and he slowly felt the struggle ebbing out of him as the oxygen that he could get into his lungs became less and less. Thawne braced the hand that wasn’t holding Barry’s throat on his hips, and then he set a punishing pace, giving Barry a new jolt of pain every time he pushed his cock into Barry’s poor, abused bottom. The sounds it made were disgusting, and Barry was sure that his skin had torn at least in one spot. It hurt terribly, and he knew he wasn’t nearly as relaxed enough for it to be safe, and he could hear his blood making horrifying smacking sounds as Thawne pistoned in and out of him.

As he stopped struggling, Thawne slowly released the pressure on his throat again, as if to reward him for stopping struggling. Barry let himself slump forward into the wall and just cried, gasping out pained sounds and little ‘no’s along the way, as if that would in any way hinder Thawne from doing what he did. Barry didn’t deserve this. Really, he didn’t.

He took a few moments to just let himself wallow in his misery before it actually became clear to him that his windpipe was free again. He took a deep breath and twisted his lower body again, ignoring the pain that shot through him to try and get away, to get that vile thing out of him. He wanted to throw up just thinking about what was going on there, and that he had Eobard Thawne’s cock inside of him.

There was a hiss behind him, and he was pushed back into the wall. “I said. Stop. Struggling. You useless whore!”

Suddenly, his back and chest hurt like they never had before, and he could feel slight vibrations _in_ his body and around his heart. “Try to throw me off once more and I’ll rip out your heart and eat it for breakfast tomorrow.”

This time, Barry did stop struggling.

“Please… please, just stop”, he pleaded, but only earned a dirty chuckle from behind him, and a specially hard thrust into his not willing, but pliant body.

“I will… when I’m done with you.” And with that, Thawne picked his pace up again, starting to grunt himself now as he set a punishing pace once more. Barry wished the monster would have less stamina. It was clear to him that he wouldn’t get away unless Thawne had gotten what he wanted, so a case of premature ejaculation would come in handy right now. But of course, Barry wasn’t granted that luck, and Thawne went at it for what felt like ages.

When he finally pulled out of Barry, he thought he was finally done, and almost allowed himself to slump again when he was hauled backwards roughly and tossed onto Gideon’s control panel, on his back this time. Thawne was there immediately, and pushed Barry’s legs apart, entering him again before Barry could do more than cry out at the way the position put strain on his shoulders, with his wrists still cuffed behind his back.

“I want to see your face. I want to see you cry, Flash, I want to see you break.”

Barry stared up into the face of the man he’d seen as a mentor for so long, and all he could do was try and spit at him. That just got him a slap across the face, so hard that he feared one of his teeth might have broken.

He just clenched his eyes shut then, but quickly reopened them when that vibrating feeling in his chest returned. The fucker really threatened to rip his heart out again… and Barry knew that he could. And that if pressed, he would. He had killed Cisco all too easily in that alternative timeline, after all.

He stopped struggling again then, and kept his eyes on his rapist’s face, allowing him to see his tear-stained and snotty face.

“There. Much better. I love seeing you like this, all messed up and trampled down. I’ll break you, Barry Allen, and it will be so much more satisfying than killing you. “

Barry started to cry anew, but didn’t try to do anything to hide it, or try to look away. Thawne wanted him like this, and he’d shown that he’d get his way. And Barry was a coward, he didn’t want to die. He wanted to have time with his friends and find another way to beat his tormentor and he wanted to go visit Iris at Jitters and have movie nights with Cisco and lunch breaks with Joe and he wanted to get to know Eddie better and he wanted to help Caitlin and- No, he didn’t want to die yet. So he lay back and took it, and he hated himself for it.

It felt like two days had passed by the time that Thawne gripped his face and made them lock eyes, and Barry had to watch his face as he grunted and moaned and finally stilled deep inside of Barry, filling him up with his seed. Barry wanted to bleach his brain and forget he’d ever had to see Thawne’s face when he orgasmed.

Thawne stepped back and carelessly let Barry drop to the ground, causing him to land painfully on his already hurting shoulder. He left him there to curl up and whimper, and just stood there and watched him while he tucked himself back into his pants.

“Well, this was nice. Let’s do it again soon, huh, Flash?”

Barry just whimpered and curled up more, and he didn’t even react much when Thawne kicked him in the stomach and spit on his face. “I wonder what your friends will say when they find you here… if they even do before you starve.” And with that, he turned and left, closing the door to the braille room behind him.

Barry gave himself over to his tears, and just turned his head towards the floor and cried.

* * *

 

“Barry? Barry, oh my god!”

He had no idea how long it had been, and he blearily raised his head, trying to see through the headache made of dehydration, hunger and pure exhaustion that was raging in his head. He knew he knew that voice, and the person that belonged with it, but he had no idea who it could be.

“Barry? Are you okay, are you awake?” There were hands on his face, and he flinched away, only to flinch even harder when they went away and reappeared on his thighs. No. No, he didn’t want it again. He pressed his legs closed and moaned at the pain that coursed through him, but still kept twisting himself away.

“Hey, Barry… Barry, it’s me. It’s alright, I won’t hurt you.” The voice registered as a friend somewhere in his dazed mind, so he didn’t try to fight as the hands found his wrists, and after a few rattling noises the cuffs opened. Barry screamed as the movement of his arms coming free jolted his shoulders, and broke out into tears anew.

“Hey… hey, it’s alright now. Here… I’ll help you get dressed and then we’ll get you upstairs… or I’ll take you home, to get cleaned up, alright?” Friend was talking to him as if he was a child, but Barry didn’t really care. He sobbed as the hands touched his thighs again, pulling his jeans back up over the mess of dried fluids.

“Come on, let’s get you clean and check for damage, okay? I’ll help you up.” Friend took one of Barry’s arms and brought the other one under Barry’s torso, carefully helping him up and onto his feet. Barry had no idea how he was supposed to stand, but Friend kept most of his weight on himself, and Barry just had to try and coordinate putting one foot in front of the other. It was a bit much still, but slowly, they managed to move out of the room and into the hallway.

“Barry!” Barry screamed as someone launched at him, and Friend pushed them away again.

“Iris. Iris. Please. He’s… let him recover, alright?” Friend’s voice was endlessly patient, but he kept a firm grip on Barry, and he felt so safe. Like he could go to sleep…

“Hey, Barry, you need to stay awake for me, come on, we’re going to get you cleaned up, yeah?” Barry didn’t quite know what he was getting cleaned up for again, but Friend was nice so he nodded and let himself be led along.

He still jolted whenever someone else came too close to check if he was alright – couldn’t they see that he wasn’t? And he just clung to Friend with all he had, which wasn’t a lot, and tried not to cry too badly.

“Caitlin, do you think we can use the shower here at the labs for him?”

“Really, I think it might be best to take him home for now… he doesn’t seem to be in a state to handle people yet. Would you do that?”

Friend must have nodded or something because Barry was then led to the elevator and then outside, into a car. He whimpered as he sat down and the dried blood and other fluids pulled on his skin and he felt the extent of the abuse he’d just suffered.

“We’ll be home soon, Bar. And then I’ll help you cleaned up and get you some food, I promise. It’s all right now, you’re safe.”

Barry still passed out on the way to wherever they were going, and he was only halfway awake again when he was being led into an unfamiliar flat with an unfamiliar bathroom. He didn’t struggle, but started to cry again when he was stripped and gently pushed into a shower stall, and then the hands were all over him again, even in places where he never, ever wanted anyone to touch him ever again, but Friend was apologizing all the way and he was so gentle… Barry knew he could trust him. And somewhere deep down he knew he had to get clean, so he tried his best to stay still and keep in his tears. It didn’t work very well, but they got it done.

“Do you want me to leave you so you can finish your shower in peace? You can sit down on the shower stool, if you want. Or do you want to get dried off and get some food now already?”

He didn’t know what he was supposed to say to that, but he could feel himself tilting sideways already again, and he soon found himself being wrapped in a fluffy towel, and then in soft fabrics before being deposited on the couch with a blanket around himself and a pillow in his arms. And then he was alone. He wondered where Friend had gone, but he knew he’d said something about being back, so he didn’t worry too much.

Friend came back with some energy bars and sandwiches that he’d cut up so Barry only needed to take a piece and pop it in his mouth. Along with that, he’d brought several glasses of different drinks for Barry to have, as he said.

Barry slowly reached out to take one of the sandwich pieces and popped it into his mouth. It tasted good, he thought. So he took another one. And another one. Before he even knew it he’d polished off the entire plate, and Friend placed another one in front of him. And another one after that, when that one was done. By then, Barry had slowed down a bit, and had also remembered to have some water in between. Slowly, he felt a bit like he was coming back to himself, though he still had a raging headache.

He looked around once more, but he still didn’t recognise the apartment he was in. He did recognise his friend though – it was Eddie.

“Eddie… thank you.” His voice sounded hoarse and raspy, but Eddie smiled at him as radiant as the sun and came to sit next to him, his own sandwich in hand.

“Just tell me if you want more, I can make you another one” he explained before taking a bite out of his own meal. Barry nodded and looked around a bit.

“Your apartment?”

“Yeah. It was closer than Joe’s place, and I wanted… I thought you might appreciate getting clean soon.”

Barry absently nodded and shifted on the sofa to find a more comfortable seat. His ass sent a painful jolt through him, and all of a sudden he had to double over to retch, and all of Eddie’s food made an immediate return.

“Sorry… sorry. I’ll.. I’ll help you-”

“No. It’s no problem, Barry. You just stay put, I’ll take care of that, and make you something more stomach-friendly. Here. Relax.” Barry found himself tucked deeper into the blanket and then propped up with some more pillows. Eddie pressed a remote control into his hand. “Feel free to turn on the TV if you want to.”

Barry nodded and closed his eyes instead. He saw Eobard Thawne’s face in the throes of orgasm, and immediately opened them again, turning over for some dry heaving.

Eddie soon returned with a bucket that he placed next to the couch, and Barry did turn on the television so he wouldn’t have to watch Eddie mop up his mess. He wanted to help, but he was aware enough by now to know that he was in no state to be of any help for anything. So he leaned back and found a rerun of an old musical, and he very carefully didn’t take his eyes off of it.

Eddie had some crackers, chamomile tea and mashed bananas for him when he came back the next time, and even though they both knew that Barry didn’t have a stomach bug Barry appreciated the care and slowly nibbled on some crackers for a while. Eddie still went around and opened some windows, then came to sit with Barry on the couch. Barry allowed him to lift Barry’s legs and sit down, letting Barry’s feet come to rest in his lap.

They both silently watched TV for a while, with Eddie absently patting Barry’s shins and feet, and Barry mostly staring into empty space. He winced every time he shifted, and every time came close to throwing up again, though luckily the crackers and the banana stayed down.

“Do you want some cream? It could … soften the scabbing a bit, so moving doesn’t pull on the cuts as much?”

He had no idea if it was part of the training to become detective or anything, but Barry could appreciate that Eddie approached the whole thing from a very neutral, logical kind of view. He could see that the other man was shaken, and he knew it was only his own shock that made him feel almost mockingly normal, but he liked that Eddie didn’t tell him how awful it was what had happened to him over and over again. As if he didn’t know that himself.

“Not sure… can I put it on myself?” He hated how hoarse his voice still sounded, and he gladly took the tea that Eddie handed him in response.

“Well, you can try. Or I can help. Or I can call someone to help, whatever you’d prefer.”

Barry ended up trying himself, but was too shaky to coordinate reaching behind him, feeling the mess that’d been made out of him and balance standing upright, so he handed the pot with the cream to Eddie. He started crying again when Eddie reached down between his cheeks, and he had to plant his hands against the wall to keep himself from trying to slap Eddie’s hands away. He was only trying to help.

He bundled himself back up into the pyjamas and blankets even further afterwards, as if hiding his body could protect it from being touched, but he had to admit that the cream slowly seeping in and softening the scabs was doing wonders for his comfort. Thinking about it made him nauseous again though, so he turned back to the TV and mindlessly stared at the commercials that were running by now.

Eddie was quiet beside him, and Barry had no idea how long they sat there, staring at a screen with a program that neither of them cared about, but Barry appreciated not being alone. He didn’t know what he’d do if he’d been alone all day, probably screamed and tried to claw his own skin off.

Eddie got up at some point to make them dinner, and Barry absently watched him instead of the TV for a while from where he could see him on the couch. He thought he should get up and sit on the table with Eddie, have dinner like a functioning person, but he was pathetically grateful to accept Eddie’s offer to just have dinner on the couch. He looked at the giant pile of spaghetti carbonara on his plate and almost felt sick again, but once he started eating it was actually quite good.

“You wanna talk about it?” Eddie asked him about halfway through their silent dinner, and Barry just shook his head.

“I just want to see him pay.” He wasn’t even sure if Eddie knew who had raped him – and god, thinking that word made him want to jump out of his own skin – but considering where he’d found him, maybe it wasn’t too hard a guess. And by now they knew that there were surveillance cameras there, so they even could have seen the whole thing by now. Barry tried to not think about that possibility.

Eddie nodded and finished his plate off without further response. Barry didn’t really feel he need to say anything either, but when it started to grow dark outside, he supposed he should get up and go home, think about what the hell he should say to Singh tomorrow. He hoped that Joe had covered for him… and for Eddie, coming to think of it.

The thing was, he didn’t want to go home. He didn’t want to get up and out of this soft blanket and Eddie’s pyjamas and he didn’t want to face the cold outside and be alone. Being alone hadn’t been good last time either. Being alone meant being at risk. He should go home though… he really should.

“Do you want to stay here tonight? Joe is asking if you’ll stay or if he should come pick you up” Eddie asked, almost as if reading his thoughts, while looking down at his phone. Presumably, Joe had just sent his text asking exactly that. Barry just shrugged and looked away. Joe would ask questions, and he’d sit Barry down and try to get him to talk, and he really didn’t want that now. But Eddie… they didn’t know each other that well, and maybe he shouldn’t impose on him more. Maybe he could ask Iris to come pick him up. Iris also wanted to talk, but she understood that sometimes, he couldn’t talk about things just yet. But he also didn’t want to be a burden for Iris, he knew she had a date with Linda park tonight. Knowing Iris, she had already cancelled it because she was so worried about Barry, but he could still hope that she’d go if he wasn’t at home anyway.

“Would you mind terribly if I… I can take the couch?”

“You can have the couch, or the bed, or we can share. It’s a big bed.” Eddie shrugged as if he really wouldn’t mind, so Barry just nodded and slumped back against the sofa.

“Here, then. Thank you, Eddie.”

“Anytime, Barry. Whatever you need.”

Eddie didn’t complain when Barry asked for a turtleneck sweater to wear to bed, or when he paired it with thick sweatpants and socks that were fit for a trip to the North Pole. He simply dug out a spare toothbrush and left to get himself ready for bed while Barry took another shower, this one by himself. He purposely tried to keep his mind turned off, but he had still scrubbed his skin red and raw in the places where Thawne had touched him when he shut the water off again. He bundled up in his much too warm clothes and padded out onto the couch where he crawled under a pile of blankets. Eddie came by to gently wish him a good night and turn off the light before he went into the bedroom. Barry noted that he didn’t hear the door close.

Eddie was too good a soul for this world.

Whenever Barry closed his eyes, he could see Thawne in front of him, staring down victoriously as his cock was pushed into Barry again and again and again and again. He felt the spit in his face just before he left, and a bruise on his ribs where he’d been kicked. He knew the bruise was just a phantom pain now, thanks to his accelerated healing, and he also knew that come morning, his ass would look as if nothing had ever happened to it, but he also knew that the real wounds sat much deeper than the skin.

Every time, his eyes snapped open again and he tried to calm himself down again, taking a few deep breaths. He would close his eyes again and think of eating ice cream with Cisco. Think of movie nights with Joe and Iris. Think of that purse that Iris kept talking about that he wanted to give her for Christmas. Think of Caitlin smiling when they had managed to hit another milestone. Think of – Thawne’s face in front of him, staring down victoriously as his cock was pushed into Barry again and again and again and again.

Barry would open his eyes again, take a few deep breaths, and close them again. Think of Cisco laughing, of Cisco’s bulbasaur shirt, Think of Caitlin’s face as Ronnie proposed to her again, think of Iris’ face when he gave her her mother’s necklace for Christmas. Think of – Thawne’s face in front of him, staring down victoriously as his cock was pushed into Barry again and again and again and again.

Rinse and repeat.

The clock on Eddie’s TV informed him that it was well past three in the morning when he finally pushed himself up and shuffled over into the direction of the bedroom. The door was indeed only ajar, and he carefully pushed it open a little more and peered in. Eddie was lying turned to his side so he was facing the door, and he only seemed to wear an undershirt and maybe boxers to bed. He appeared to be sleeping peacefully, and Barry almost backed off again. He didn’t want to inconvenience him more…

He must have made some sound though, or maybe Eddie’s brain realised that the faint light from the door was being blocked, because he blinked awake and squinted at Barry.

“...Bar?”

“I can’t sleep.” Barry didn’t know why he was whispering, and why he felt like a little child complaining at his parents’ bedroom door, but he felt like he couldn’t stay alone on that sofa for a single minute longer.

Eddie simply nodded and raised a corner of his blanket. “Come here then.”

Barry left the door ajar behind him again as he came forward and slipped under the blanket. “I’m sorry to disturb you...”

“It’s no problem, Barry, really. Do you need anything else?” Barry just mutely shook his head, and Eddie nodded, settling down again with his eyes closed. Barry just watched him for a long time, and then closed his eyes and kept imagining Eddie’s face, peaceful and calm and - Thawne’s face in front of him, staring down victoriously as his cock was pushed into Barry again and again and again and again.

He opened his eyes again with a gasp, trying to calm his breathing.

“Bar?”

“Just… keep seeing… _that_.”

Eddie nodded and sat up in bed, seemingly deep in thought.

“Have you ever done an imaginary journey?”

“A what?”

Eddie gave him a smile and climbed out of bed (He really was only wearing boxers with his undershirt) and left the bedroom. Shortly after he returned with a book and instructed Barry to lie down and close his eyes. And then he started to read him something from that book, something that started with breathing exercises and then took him – took him on an imaginary journey, far away into a world of his own creation, full of wonders and colours and wind and flowers and laughs, and it was calm and peaceful and wonderful, and he felt much more at ease when Eddie’s calm, gentle voice instructed him to slowly come back to reality, and it was a little bit like waking from a long nap and a little bit like coming down from a high.

Eddie placed the book on the nightstand and lay back down himself.

“Now, when you close your eyes, you can relive your journey. It’s yours, and yours alone.” Barry gave him a tired smile, and somehow it felt only natural to scoot closer and snuggle up to Eddie’s side. Somehow, when he wasn’t touching his ass and with layers and layers of clothes between them, the touch felt nice. Eddie let Barry cuddle up to him, even placed an arm around him in return. He had no idea if it was just indulgence of Barry’s needs or if Eddie liked cuddling, but he decided not to question it.

This time, drifting off was easier. When he closed his eyes, he send himself back to his fantastic journey, and whenever Thawne’s face wanted to push its way back in, Eddie’s arms and warmth helped pushing it back away. He was safe here. Thawne couldn’t hurt him.

When Eddie’s alarm went, he still felt like he’d only just fallen asleep, and Eddie looked like he felt exactly the same. He slapped his hand on his nightstand until he got ahold of his phone, then turned off the alarm and rolled over, tugging Barry back into his arms.

“Shouldn’t we get ready for work?” Barry asked, even though he wanted nothing less than to go to the precinct right now, and be faced with other people.

“Joe covered for us for the rest of the week” Eddie murmured, and Barry decided not to question it, and let himself be lulled into sleep again by the warmth and comfort around him.

They eventually got out of bed around noon, and Eddie made them glorious amounts of breakfast which they ate sitting on the couch in front of a Disney movie. Neither of them mentioned the fact that they were holding hands.

When he went to collect Barry’s plate, Barry thanked him for it with a quick kiss on the cheek, and Eddie returned it as a peck on his lips. They shared a smile, and then Eddie went to put the dishes in the dishwasher.

After that they leaned against one another, wrapped up in the same blanket, and Barry managed to doze for a bit again before he finally became restless.

“Did you get any updates from Star Labs? Anything up?” He knew he could also check his own phone, but he really didn’t feel up to facing his pants yet again. But Eddie had been checking his phone throughout the day, so he had to know.

“Nothing major, but they say they’re tracking him.”

Barry nodded, but somehow the energy he’d felt just moments ago to get up and do something had already dissipated again, and he leaned back against Eddie, taking comfort in the way his arm came up around him. He never wanted to leave the safety of Eddie’s arms again.

“Do you think this is normal?”

“The way you’re feeling right now? Yeah, totally. It’s… it’s a big thing that happened, Barry. Even if your body heals fast, your mind still takes time to process it. And it’s… Barry, it’s a lot to process. A lot to deal with. It’s normal to feel so out of it.”

“But aren’t you supposed to talk about it?”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“No.”

“Yeah. I think you’re supposed to talk about it, but in the long run. I think right now it’s perfectly fine if you don’t feel like talking about it yet. You need to process for yourself first. But Barry, whenever you want to talk, I’m here for you. We’re all here for you.”

Barry gave him a tiny smile for that and snuggled closer to him.

“I just want him gone, for now.”

“And we’ll manage that, Barry. We will. He’ll be gone soon. For good.”

And somehow, safely wrapped up in Eddie’s arms and a soft blanket in a cozy apartment, he could almost believe that. But no matter if they would manage or not, Eddie would be there for him. And in time, he’d talk, and deal with what had happened to him, and Eddie would be there with him, and he’d listen and try to find ways to help. And maybe, somehow, along the way, they’d become more than they’d been, and maybe once he was a little more himself again, Barry wouldn’t mind some more of Eddie’s kisses. But for now, he just wanted to stay right here in Eddie’s arms. It was all he needed for the moment, really. When he told Eddie as much, he got a quiet chuckle out of him.

“I won’t let go, Barry. I promise. I’m not letting go.”


End file.
